When even conservative Republicans come out for reducing prison sentences for drug offenses, it begins to look like momentum for change has reached critical mass.

As highlighted by AL.com today, the New York Times reported on a bill in Congress to cut mandatory-minimum sentences and give federal judges greater leeway in granting leniency. One of the co-sponsors is tea party favorite Mike Lee, a Republican senator from Utah.

But a Washington Post report focuses on a group making the contrarian argument that harsh drug sentences have kept the country safe – prosecutors.

The Post quotes the director at large of the National District Attorneys Association and the president of the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, who both argue that long prison terms written into law in the 1980s and 1990s have contributed to a steady drop in crime over the last two decades.

The story also notes, however, that many prosecutors disagree with that position.